Europe has "alarming" rates of smoking, drinking and obesity - WHO

LONDON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Europe has the world's highest
rates of drinking and smoking, and more than half its people are
too fat, putting them at high risk of heart disease, cancer and
other deadly illnesses, health officials warned on Wednesday.

In a report on health in its European Region, the World
Health Organization (WHO) said that while many countries had
reduced risk factors for premature death, rates of obesity,
tobacco use and alcohol consumption "remain alarmingly high".

"Europeans drink and smoke more than anyone else. We are
world champions - and it's not a good record," said Claudia
Stein, WHO Europe's head of information, evidence, research and
innovation.

She said this could have the most serious impact on young
people, since their lives may be shortened unless something is
done to reduce consumption of tobacco, alcohol and calories.

Just under 60 percent of people in the WHO's European region
are either overweight or obese, and 30 percent use tobacco. Some
11 litres of pure alcohol is drunk per person per year.

The report found that for now, life expectancy is increasing
across Europe and the region is on track for reducing premature
mortality by 1.5 percent a year until 2020.

This means that the number of people whose lives are cut
short by cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic
respiratory diseases is steadily declining, it said.

Since the last European health report in 2012, substantial
improvements have also been seen in rates of death from external
causes, such as road traffic accidents and suicides, it found.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO's European regional director, applauded
the improvements in health and the steady gains in life
expectancy but added a warning.

"There is a very real risk that these gains will be lost if
smoking and alcohol consumption continue at the current rate,"
she said. "This is especially relevant to young people, who may
not live as long as their grandparents."

The report also looked at vaccination rates and found
generally good levels of coverage.

Average measles immunisation coverage rose from 93.4 percent
in 2010, to 93.7 percent in 2011 and 94.6 percent in 2012 and is
steadily increasing.

However, gaps in immunity "still account for ongoing endemic
transmission and have led to a number of outbreaks of measles
and rubella in recent years", the report said.

In 2015, four deaths from measles have been reported in the
region, and one child has died of diphtheria - the first case in
three decades.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Tom Heneghan)